


Operation: Comfort

by racheesi



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Gen, excessive use of hot cocoa, post-playoff feelings, snuggle pile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6843700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/racheesi/pseuds/racheesi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Samwell Men's Hockey Playoff Loss in Year 2, March goes out of her way to plan something comforting to cheer up Justin and his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation: Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> I own none of the characters. Everything is from Ngozi's amazing webcomic, Check Please! This could be read as a sequel to my other March/Ransom fic, [March On](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6752425), but that's not necessary :)

March closed her laptop, the livestream of the NCAA men’s hockey playoffs over with a burst of blue and white confetti. The wrong confetti. She wished she could have been there, but she had morning practice, followed by an afternoon rehearsal with her accompanist for her junior recital. Farmer sat beside her on the couch, looking as forlorn as March felt and she reached out to squeeze the younger girl’s hand.

“They did well,” she said honestly, but she knew the feeling. They had done well, but it hadn’t been well enough. It was a tough loss and she felt for the boys. She padded back to her shared room with April, Farmer following behind, and she put her laptop on her bed beside her viola case. She spied her always-packed-just-in-case overnight bag in the corner and turned back to Farmer.

“We’ve got two hours or so until their bus gets back and I’ve got an idea.”

—

March pulled her car into the lot behind Faber. It was nearly midnight and no one was there besides the boys’ bus, lights on and empty. Coach Hall’s car was parked by the loading dock, so she figured she’d timed it just right. The guys were still inside putting away their equipment for the last time this season. She got out, leaning against her car, and texted Justin.

_Txt: Outside the loading dock. Want a ride back to the Haus?_

She got an answer almost immediately.

_Txt: yeah_

She knew the loss would be hard on Justin. And it was clear, now, just how hard.

He was the first to come out of Faber, making a bee-line for her. He had a few inches on March’s nothing-to-scoff-at height, but it was impossible to tell, the way he immediately curled his arms around her middle, ducking down to bury his face against her neck.

“Oh, Justin,” she breathed, running her hand up and down his back in slow, deliberate circles. “I’m proud of you, okay? So proud.”

She didn’t know how long they stood like that, but she didn’t dare move until Justin’s warm breaths against her neck stopped shuddering every few seconds. She tilted her head to kiss him, just above the ear, before patting his back, encouraging him to stand up. “C’mon. Let’s get you home.”

“Will you stay?” She barely heard him, the first words she’d heard him say since she called him before the game to wish him luck. She looked at Justin over the top of her car and nodded, smiling warmly.

“Of course,” she assured him and his shoulders visibly relaxed. “I brought my overnight bag with me just in case.”

During the ride back to the Haus, Justin opened up, talking a little more, with minimal coaxing. When she dutifully stopped at one of the handful of stop signs on the way to the Haus, one of the boxes in the backseat shifted, causing its contents to clink together and Justin twisted around, taking in the full backseat.

“Is that—?” he started and March finished.

“My milk frother? Yup.”

“What’s that for?”

“Look in the grocery bag.”

She chuckled to herself as Justin unclasped his seatbelt to reach into one of the canvas bags. Inside was two bottles of her homemade chocolate syrup, a couple gallons of milk, and four bags of mini-marshmallows. He didn’t ask before opening the box that had made the noise earlier, making a little noise of disbelief as he turned the mug over in his hands just as March pulled up to the Haus.

“What are these?”

March reached out to grab his free hand and squeeze. “The team was going to decorate mugs next time we did crafternoon, but we figured they’d be nice for you guys. We didn’t have a lot of time, between painting and baking and washing them, but I think Farmer can draw a pretty good hockey stick. The Haus never seems to have enough mugs anyway, so…”

“Farmer?” he asked, still processing everything.

“She’s already at the dorms, making hot chocolate for Chris, Will, and Derek.”

Justin turned around and sank into the seat, looking at her incredulously. “How in the world did I ever get so…”

“Lucky?” she finished with a small smile. “Well, you’re smart, you’ve got a great smile, and you falling ass-over-teakettle in my backyard during our house barbecue was a nice touch.”

March’s quip worked, her heart warming a little as a small smile bloomed on Justin’s lips. She leaned over to kiss that smile before turning off her car, unbuckling her seatbelt, and getting out. The Haus was still dark, but the rest of the guys would be arriving soon, she was sure. “I’m gonna get this stuff inside. Can you text Eric and ask if he minds if I borrow a little corner of his kitchen for a bit?”

—

One by one, the rest of the Haus’ occupants and frequent visitors (read: Larissa) trudged in and were promptly greeted by a mug of hot chocolate and as many marshmallows as March could fit.

“Comfort food,” she insisted, watching as the team sipped at the drinks, settling around the kitchen and living room. Even Eric, who had headed straight for the better part of the kitchen counter, starting in on a homemade pie like it was a direct line to emotional healing, sipped at his drink after March had quietly slid next to his mixing bowl.

The only teammate who hadn’t come back yet was Jack Zimmermann. It took March a good half hour to realize that he’d already been home when she and Justin had arrived. Silent in the dark Haus, holed up in his room. It was heartbreaking, but unsurprising. March untangled herself from where she was draped across Justin’s lap at the kitchen table, watching Eric start in on his second pie crust of the late, late night.

“I’m going to take my bag up to the attic,” she hummed against Justin’s lips and he nodded, turning back to his hushed conversation with Adam as she swung her bag over her shoulder. The mug she’d set aside for Jack was still on the counter and she reheated it before adding the marshmallows and taking it upstairs with her. Eric glanced at her, giving her a small smile, before turning back to his dough.

March put the mug on the floor outside of Jack’s door and knocked lightly. “Hey Jack? It’s March,” she said quietly into the door. “I brought you some cocoa.” If Jack wanted to be left alone, March wouldn’t pry, so she left it at that and headed up to the attic. She had one more thing to do.

If there was anything her time spent on Pinterest had taught her, it was how to assess a bedroom in seconds, and assemble a structurally sound blanket fort with maximum comfort and efficiency. She slid the thin mattresses off of both of the bunks and situated them side-by-side on the floor and the rest of the fort sort of… happened around it. Within ten minutes, it looked damn good. She should add that to her resume, really. ‘Second-Chair Samwell Symphony Violist. NCAA Women’s Volleyball Champion. Speedy Blanket-Fort MacGyver.’

When March headed back down to Justin, she noticed the mug outside of Jack’s door was gone and she smiled.

—

March woke up in the boys’ blanket fort in the early hours of the morning. She was curled around Justin’s back, and didn’t want to check her watch quite yet, but she figured it was somewhere around the time of her 6:30 run. When she’d fallen asleep, it had just been her, Justin, and Adam in the room, but over the course of the night, the amount of people (and pillows and blankets) had multiplied. Adam was beside Justin, opposite her, on his back, mouth open and snoring loudly. Shitty was on Adam’s other side, naked of course, with his leg unabashedly thrown around both Adam and Justin. Larissa was wedged between Shitty and the wall, hugging a pillow in one arm and Shitty’s hand in the other. Even Eric had joined them, curled in the corner above March’s head like a content little cat. She smiled fondly at the sight before extracting herself from Justin. He mumbled sleepily, starting to stir, but she pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades before whispering in his ear. “I’m going to head out for my run before practice. I’ll swing by with lunch, alright? You go back to sleep.” Justin mumbled an affirmative before smacking his lips sleepily and pressing his face back into Adam’s bicep.

March double checked everything was back in her overnight bag before creeping down the attic stairs to brush her teeth in Justin’s bathroom and change into her running clothes. As she emerged, Jack was heading down the hall, empty mug in hand. He looked at her, first surprised, then sheepish as he looked down at the mug in his hands and she waved it off with a small smile.

“Just so you know,” she said quietly, though it sounded quite loud, breaking the silence in the hallway, “There’s a SMH snuggle pile going on upstairs that’s missing their captain.”

Jack’s cheeks darkened. “I’m not-“

March stepped forward and put her hand on his arm. “I know what makes a good captain and you’re it, Jack. You have a really, really special group here and you are a integral part of that. So go be a part of it. And maybe also bring Shitty up some pants.”

She dropped her hand with another small smile, humming a pleasant, “I’ll see you later,” while she headed down the stairs and, as she carefully opened the front door to the Haus, she thought she heard the telltale creak of someone walking up the attic stairs.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://thepensieve.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
